Team Craft’s ROPES Challenge Course provides an exciting and fun way to develop effective teamwork, build relationships, and sharpen problem solving skills.

A ROPES challenge course has three levels of team effort. You can design a program to include any or all aspects of the ropes course elements. Go to the Ropes Activity Descriptions Page for pictures and descriptions of all of the challenge course activities.

Team Initiative Activities
The most popular ropes activities are Team Initiatives. These fifty minute challenge activities are a fun mix of physical and mental challenges based on whimsical scenarios about a fantasy adventure. A program typically consists of a series of these activities that can be chosen by the client before the program. Each activity gives the team an opportunity to practice effective problem solving in a fun atmosphere.

At the outset, the team gains agreement on the goal, how they’ll know when they’re successful, and then decide what they need to do to achieve it within a tight time limit. The team brainstorms solutions, identifies their action plan, and then works out the solution. Invariably, spontaneous and often wildly humorous situations occur that transfix everyone’s attention, and makes for a memorable event.

Low ROPES activities take place on cables and ropes a few feet off the ground. Trust and one-to-one support between teammates is the focus of these elements. Participants share risk taking and coach each other for a shared success to accomplish the tasks.

High ROPES events take team members to new heights. Participants work though a series of climbing and balancing activities up to forty feet in the air. Each person selects their personal level of challenge and then experiences the thrill of reaching beyond perceived limits while achieving their personal goal, with total team focus and support.

Team Craft instructors observe team process, comment as appropriate, and lead discussions following each activity. The discussions are engaging conversations that stimulate new insight on team effectiveness. Teams identify parallels between how they approached the ropes challenge and how they approach situations at work. When the team is successful, members identify qualities to apply at work. When they are less than effective, they identify new perspectives for success. Action planning at the end of the program ties these observations together into a set of new team practices.

Program Characteristics & Logistics:

Design the program that best fits your team. You select the level and also choose the activities.

Program Length: Short formats are 3 to 8 hours in length. Team Initiative activities can fit into a program as short as 3 hours. Low Ropes activities typically require a minimum 4.5 hours. We recommend a 6 hour time commitment for High Ropes. The longer the program the more insight and confidence a team builds. Our classic ROPES Challenge Course is a 2 to 3 day experience that builds effective team relationships, communication skills, and shared problem solving abilities. Contact us for sample schedules of a program that fits your desired timeframe.

Budgeting: A typical program’s cost ranges from fifteen to thirty dollars per person per program hour. Price varies with number of participants, customization needed, location, and length of the program.

Group Size: Activity teams include 8 to 12 members. We can also accommodate smaller teams, and several activity teams can be involved in the same program.

Program Locations: Team Initiative Activities are very mobile and can be done in any open area – indoors or outside to fit your preferences.

Low and High ropes require Challenge Course structures.
Team Craft has full facilities in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. We also have a Low ropes course facility in the Texas Hill Country outside Austin at Barton Creek Resort and Spa .

Common Learning Themes:

Team Initiative Activities

• Group problem solving skills

• Valuing Personal Differences

• Effective Communication

• Leadership / support roles

• Dealing with Change

• Setting and Achieving Quality standards

Low & High ROPES Activities

• Trust, control, & empowerment

• Personal risk taking

• Managing feelings and emotions

• Celebrating Success

To see a list of activities on a ROPES Challenge Course go to the Activity Descriptions page.

For more information go to Team Building General Information and Team Craft FAQ's (frequently asked questions).

__Download a ROPES Challenge Course "PDF" Acrobat file for printing this information and sharing with others offline.